3d printing

[photoman290]

hi all does anyone have any tips on getting some parts 3d printed. an area i have managed to avoid getting into for some reason. ? any engineers like to run over the design with me. not my design but any help would be useful.

[Julian]

Happy to help if I can.  What is it you are wanting to print?

[photoman290]

hi julian they are parts for a linear actuator. still at the design stage at the moment. i can send you a link to there youtube video to give you an idea. its for a flight simulator  ut still undecided between linear actuators and geared motors. both have there good and bad points. cost being a major one of course. here is video of the assembly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvlEH7rZPLk

[Julian]

Hi,

Had a look at the .stl files and some of the parts are massive, at least in terms of home printing.  One, 27159-02, I'd estimate at around 19 - 20hrs of printing and use 23 mtrs of filament including support material.

This and 27163-01 wouldn't even fit my build plate, so I'm afraid practical assistance is beyond my capabilities.  Looking at some of the other files I notice they include toothed pulleys for timing belts.  I'd strongly recommend if you go down this route, buy ready made aluminium items.  I've bought many from ebay and Aliexpress, they are dirt cheap and way better quality than any you'd print.

I don't know what the cost of one of these actuators would be ... not insignificant I'd imagine with the lead screw and ball nut, aluminium extrusions and what looks to be servo motor with feed back loop plus a motor controller (not shown in drawings I looked at).  Add to that the time and cost to print the other parts, remember there are many failed prints when playing with these machines ... bloody annoying when you been printing most of the day and it goes tits up right at the end!

Anyway, Alixepress offer several types of liner actuator.  for example 12v, 600mm stroke, 500Kg (which I'm guessing it a little too high for your requirements) and 5mm/sec (which I'm guessing is a little too low for your requirements) circa GBP 80.00 delivered UK.  There are many to sift through and you'll most likely find one better suited to your needs.

Probably not quite the answer you were hoping for, but I hope it helps.

PS If you go ahead with the project I'm sure many on here would love to see a thread on your progress.

[photoman290]

hi julian i did think it would work out too expensive. i am going to go for the geared motor option instead. i have found a good design from someone in germany. i have 5 motors already. so just need to find one more. i am happier with the,motor/gearbox design anyway. he has a really neat design using cranked tubes to keep the footprint down. all that needs to be done  that i cant do or get done by the local engineer/blacksmith is bending the tube. i am going to use arduinos and igbt motor controllers. the software is availble from the xsimulator site and it should work directly with the flightsim. here is link to the design. there is a n option to link it to sketchup. but havent checked that as he is happy to send me plans free of charge anyway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiY1eO86to4

[Julian]

Chalk and cheese ... I recon that's a way more elegant design.

I watched a couple of videos of finished simulators in action, very impressive and they look to be great fun.  I'd seriously like to see details of the build.

Looking at the bent arms ... I haven't put loads of thought into the geometry, but could you use straight arms and remodel the top frame to suit?

[photoman290]

you could but then it starts getting a bit unwieldly and heavier for no real gain. slower response time, bigger motors. there are plenty of designs that use straight arms but this one keeps it within the  inside of the base size. i have xplane and a pair of hp reverb vr goggles. have a look on the xsimulator forum. lots of very helpful people there. you do need a fast computer and a decent grappics card to run xplane in vr though. useing 3 screens is another way. but vr is amazing in flight sims. xplane is not the easiest but it is the most realistic as it is modelled on real aircraft dynamics.